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One of our favorite Las Vegas restaurants, Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at the Forum Shops, has risked the ire of customers with a new “COVID-19 offset fee” in the amount of four percent on all checks.

While we’d typically lose our mind over a fee like this, we’re reeling in the WTF this time. Hear us out.

We’ll say up front we think this fee is a bad look for Joe’s and its parent company, Lettuce Entertain You.

But everyone can agree restaurants are going through a particularly difficult time right now.

Yeah, understatement of the year.

In Las Vegas, most have had zero revenue in more than two months during the shutdown.

Joe’s will change your life. You can’t put a price on that.

Even as restaurants have opened their doors again, they have been faced with a daunting 50% occupancy limitation. Even the most financially successful restaurants (Joe’s is one of those) are struggling with the unprecedented financial challenge that limitation (in addition to new costs related to safety protocols and equipment) presents.

To the credit of Joe’s, they’re transparent about the fee. It’s not only on the restaurant’s Web site, it’s on the menu and printed on the checks.

Optional is cool. Keep an eye out for restaurants where it’s mandatory.

The biggest saving grace is the restaurant makes it very clear customers can simply ask to have the fee removed.

So, it’s completely optional.

We initially figured we’d ask to have the fee removed, but as we thought about it further, we’re pretty sure we’re going to pay it.

Why? We love Joe’s. We love that Joe’s employees are finally back to work. We want to place to thrive, and we don’t mind helping Joe’s through a rough patch.

Yes, Joe’s could just add 4% to their prices, but that could end up being permanent. This “offset” fee is very much temporary, just the way we prefer our fees.

As mentioned, Joe’s is one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, and it’s hard to get too mad when you love something so much. They get a pass from us this time.

If you refuse to pay fees out of principal, good for you. As to have the 4% removed from your tab and tip the server 24%. You can afford it. You’re eating at Joe’s!

Park MGM, formerly Monte Carlo, is reportedly going to break new ground when it reopens. Word is Park MGM will be the first completely non-smoking casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Yep, the casino, the hotel and pool. The whole nine.

Boom.

The time for a non-smoking Vegas casino may have finally arrived.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Las Vegas casinos possibly going non-smoking (including a rumor about Planet Hollywood which Caesars Entertainment quickly denied), but popular wisdom has been a non-smoking casino in Vegas is doomed.

We beg to differ.

Park MGM is the perfect casino resort to take the smoking ban leap.

While the timing is related to the COVID-19 crisis, a smoking ban is going to be a huge market differentiator for Park MGM. That marketing hook is needed more than ever, especially because the hotel has not met expectations since the Monte Carlo rebrand. Ditto the resorts hotel-within-a-hotel, NoMad.

The goal for Park MGM has always been to appeal to younger customers (or any customers, really). The “bold” move to ban smoking is certain to be a draw for customers who may never have been to Park MGM, or Monte Carlo for that matter.

It seems likely the smoking ban at Park MGM will be presented as “temporary,” but if it results in pulling in new customers, it may end up being the beginning of a trend for Las Vegas casinos, despite the vocal opposition to such a cultural and business shift.

Interestingly, former MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren may have tipped the company’s hand about a smoke-free Vegas casino, without ever mentioning a specific resort.

In an interview with Fox 5 Las Vegas, Murren said he believed over time Las Vegas casinos will “gravitate” toward being smoke-free.

Another breadcrumb MGM Resorts would make this move? A survey sent to loyalty club members specifically asked if enforcing non-smoking policies would increase their chances of returning sooner. Somebody, apparently, answered “yes.” See more from the MGM Resorts survey.

The survey question that launched a thousand blog comments.

We’ve hear there are a lot of MGM Resorts executives who are very nervous about this decision, and if the rumor pans out, we look forward to seeing how this surprising twist unfolds.

The best players at Park MGM are already being contacted by their casino hosts to make sure they’re cool with the smoking ban.

There’s been no official announcement from Park MGM about the rumored smoking ban or a reopening date. We’ve heard July 1, so let’s go with that.

It’s an idea so crazy, it just might work. A company out of Bulgaria, Stinky Socks, has created a line of scented socks intended to remind people of their favorite places, including Las Vegas.

The socks are touted as carrying the scent of “the beach, the mountains and the heart of the city.”

The “city” in question? Las Vegas, of course.

No, Vegas casino carpets aren’t garish to “keep people looking up at the slots.” First, they aren’t all garish. Second, the patterns are sometimes busy because it helps disguise stains.

We reached out to Stinky Socks to see what inspired the scent for the Las Vegas socks, and the company’s CEO, named Risto, said, “I would describe it as a mix of old, heavy furniture mixed with air that wasn’t moved a lot.” We are intrigued.

As far as the design, Risto said, “[The socks] were inspired partly from carpets back in the day, mixed with some disco elements from the ’80s.” Read more from Risto.

Longtime casino visitors may see some similarities to the kitschy carpeting at Stardust.

The latest batch of socks from Stinky Socks was intended to appeal to folks staying home during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Here’s a look at a video promoting the fragrant socks.

The aromatic socks cost $14.95. Ours were $24.95 with shipping included. Of course, we ordered some! Do you know this Las Vegas blog at all?

Given the wide, wide variety of smells in Las Vegas, we’re curious to experience these socks first-hand. First nostril? Whatever works.

Vegas fans have long had an appetite for the smells of their beloved casinos. Companies have churned out Vegas-scented candles and aroma machines paying homage to our favorite places to stay and play. Sans the cigarette and cigar smoke, typically.

Find out more at the Stinky Socks Web site. Which is, frankly, a sentence we never imagined we’d be typing in this Las Vegas blog.

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